KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 — Bursa Malaysia reversed yesterday’s gains to open lower while entering the final trading day of the year, taking the cue from the overnight weakness on Wall Street.

A dealer said profit taking also came into play after the key index closed at a fresh four-month high yesterday.

At 9.05am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) fell 4.98 points to 1,610.69 from yesterday’s close of 1,615.67, after opening at 1,609.37.

Market breadth was negative, with losers outpacing gainers 125 to 86, while 227 counters remained unchanged, 1,533 untraded and 39 others suspended.   

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Turnover amounted to 109.47 million shares worth RM41.96 million.

Despite the fall at the opening bell, Malacca Securities Sdn Bhd expects the key index to sign off 2019 on a positive note, backed by the firmer ringgit against the US dollar, coupled with the strong commodity prices.

“We still think that the local bourse may end the month on a flourishing note as the key index looks to play catch-up with the gains across global equities this year,” it said, adding that the key index is poised to re-test the 1,621 resistance level.

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“Should the aforementioned level be breached, the next resistance is pegged at the 1,635 level,” it said.

On the flip side, the brokerage firm said the immediate support would be located at the 1,600 psychological level, followed by the 1,590 level.

Among heavyweights, Maybank slipped three sen to RM8.69, Public Bank retreated eight sen to RM19.90, Tenaga was 10 sen easier at RM13.44, Petronas Chemicals slipped five sen to RM7.35 while CIMB was flat at RM5.31.

Of the actives, TDM gained one sen to 41.5 sen, Pelikan added 1.5 sen to 31.5 sen, Salcon inched up half-a- sen to 2.5 sen while Dynaciate and Astral Asia were unchanged at eight sen and 18.5 sen respectively.

Top gainer Carlsberg advanced 26 sen to RM29.54 while top loser Nestle dipped RM1.50 to RM146.60.

The FBM Emas Index shed 26.17 points to 11,446.37 and the FBM Emas Shariah Index was 25.76 points weaker at 12,064.51. 

The FBM 70 trimmed 0.10 point to 14,249.52, the FBMT 100 Index declined 26.59 points to 11,239.49 but the FBM Ace was 23.32 points firmer at 5,213.45.

Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index shed 0.41 point to 153.42, the Financial Services Index decreased 54.84 points to 15,651.46 while the Plantation Index contracted 2.19 points to 7,847.45. — Bernama